The Omni Group

I think word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful advertising methods, and not something you can easily just go for too.  But 2 things come to mind, Quicksilver over at blacktree.com and Delicious Library.  Both I heard through word of mouth and both are pretty well known (possibly Quicksilver only in the more geeky area).  But I remember when Delicious Library was underworks and everybody saying hey you see this?  Key is having something impressive enough to have people say 'hey check it out!'  I would say OmniGroup software is awesome, I wish I used it more though.  I've shown off OmniGraffle a bit and always say it's name whenever anybody is talking or doing flowcharts, down side is at work I can't really say use OmniGraffle when they're firing up Visio on their PCs.  Ugly app.

I think word-of-mouth, is it.

I'm spreading the word the best i can, but find that a lot of the push back I get is from developers who say *well it doesn't integrate with VISIO, and all of the other programmers I work with use VISIO*. Bah.

For my use, I consider it THE best tool for the job. I have been doing wireframe diagramming for quite some time now, and have always used illustrator to do the job. OmniGraffle makes the wireframe process SO much quicker and easier. I also recently moved into the JAVA development environment and must say that the GUI elements have become very handy for describing to developers how things will work. I could see the GUI palette being expanded.

I wonder how an ad that described how productivity could be increased would be helpful? Compare OMNIGraffle's features to that of illustrator or Visio (in the case of OMNIGraffle) for doing the same job. That's where I see the biggest benefits, in the simplicity. It saves loads of time.

I'd also say tapping the scientific communities might do some good. Scientists in general love these sorts of tools, and this one doesn’t have a daunting learning curve as some other design applications do.

Word of mouth, definitely. Perhaps in a wider sense in which I'd include things like personal blogs and random observations. See people doing something cool that you want to do as well? Just ask them how they do it!

As I find the computer press and retail locations abominable and avoid them, I doubt that they play a significant role for me.

Honestly? Word of mouth is dandy, but you simply have to get the WORD out. Get on some of the Mac podcasts out there. (Like, I dunno, ours?) Get the Mac web writers to review the software. Place small ads, cheaply, on MANY Mac web sites.

Tim

Skywriting.

Definitely word of mouth and websites like MacUpdate for me. Release updates often is the best advertising IMHO.

Word of mouth, colleagues, friends…

I'm sorry to say, I don't like your latest ad. If I don't know what OmniWeb is some killer browser, then that portion of the ad means nothing to me. OmniOutliner is a little more self-explanitory. OmniGraffle, also not sure.

If people know your software enough to know them by name, then a tagline like “power your productivity” makes sense. Otherwise, it's jargon we've heard 100 different ways before.

“Software that helps you get things done.” - also verging on meaningless. I think everyone dislikes software that doesn't help you get things done, so at least you didn't go that route ;)

It sounds like a standard MS marketing campaign. “Increase your productivity, maximize your workflow, decrease project overhead…” blah… means nothing.

Tell me the awards this stuff has won. Tell me the key features OW has over other browsers. You don't have to write a book, but offer more intrigue than a pile of jargon.

I do like the free trials blurb.

Before I say where I heard about your apps, I'd just like to say that one of the previous posts mentioned science as a potential market.  While OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle are useful in the world of research, I think they target the business world more.  I see a market for some interesting software in research that are easy to use and powerful at the same time - kind of like OmniGraffle and GraphClick (see below). 

I'm a grad student at a large research lab and I can't tell you the number of times that I see presentations with graphs generated in Excel presenting data from 100 million dollar projects.  Sad.  I do most of my data analysis and plotting in Python and matplotlib and all of my writing in Latex (via BBEdit).  These tools are great but could certainly use a Mac touch.  Graphing in on a Mac pretty much stinks.  All the programs I've seen have very strange interfaces, are very expensive, or are archaic. 

—-

I heard about Omniweb years ago on the Macnn forums.  That and Launchbar (wonderful product). 

OmniOutliner I picked up after reading some stuff on some blog or another.  I'd tried it before that, but I'd never really seen the use for it. 

OmniGraffle was finally bought because I needed a diagramming application.  This was one I always liked but didn't purchase until I had a use for it.

One other notable shareware application I picked up was GraphClick.  I heard about that since it won an Apple Design Award.  As soon as I heard what it did, it was mine.  Very useful app in the world of science.

For me you guys are the other productivity suite…

You are secret weapons.

Maybe that's the problem.

I have to say, your existing audience is probably made up of 'it was on the machine when i bought it'  types and geek/early adopter/blog-readers.

Not an advertising led audience.  Ads might help you maintain your lead profile (and you do have one) among indie Mac developers.

You might be better off asking us what attributes we would ascribe to you. 

- Great UI,  you folks think of the user like few others.

- Useful, beyond Getting Things Done.

- Quality, high-end products.

Forrest above didn't really like you mentioning these, I guess he's right in that you need to communicate that without necessarily saying it.  He is certainly right in that your list of awards does indicate your lead profile.

For me.  You could expand your geek/early adoptor/'key opinion' maker profiles by SPONSORING small productivity, graphic design, Mac blogs.    (Now I feel like starting one…)  There's podcasts with a high profile (the maccast comes to mind, it posts its show notes in OOP)  And others.  I think this kind of 'community support' advertising would be in keeping with your profile and would consolidate it.

I think you should steer clear of general non-targetted ads like the blue one.  This doesn't address anyone in particular but promotes you as a company.  I think you have genuine offers to make on the productivity end, whether in OOPs capabilities and the huge GTD audience that's out there, or equally, in the graphic design and presentation end of things.  Ads which told those stories in the right place (man) would be more effective.  Where and how would need careful thought. 

I too would love to discuss these issues with you separately…  but for now, my family is waiting with the Friday night DVD and popcorn…

>but let me decide if they’re for me or not.

Amen to that.

(not verbatim, but one of my favorites)

Doc: I take it you've been on a bender?

Jane: Yeah, WTF is it to you?

Doc: I meant no judgement. If you we're a farmer I'd ask how your farming was going.

Versiontracker (and for some reason I only tend to click on ads in versiontracker, particularly if they're pretty), blogs

My main sources to hear about software are a combination of MacUpdate.com (I'm a shareware junkie), and articles in the various blogs and news sites.

I've noticed a lot of developers really crank out releases and partner them with press releases so as to get a little more buzz. It's a thought…

My girlfriend, who recently switched to Mac, mentioned to me “What a waste of ad $... they don't even tell you what the product is.”  My take away from this is simply that some people like a more descriptive illustrative form of advertisement.  What can the product do?  How will it benefit me?  Why do I NEED it?

Personally I use OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle EVERY DAY, so I know and love the products and gladly show them off to friends and coworkers.